"I'm honestly really surprised that you got off the hook so easily," Aizawa said to Goku Black, this time without any bandages on him. "It's not unheard of for heroes to be forced into huge debt from the collateral damage they caused."
"Yeah, it really is great," the Saiyan replied, resting his head on his neck pillow. "But now I can actually get that bank account thing dealt with. And I'll finally be able to partake in 'virtual shopping.'"
The duo were being driven to UA from Naruhata in a black Jeep, passing by sights that Black has grown completely accustomed to by now. Although Black had to wake up extremely early again, he was in an extremely good mood, often wearing a genuine smile as he spoke. As they passed by ground zero of the pseudo-nomus, he saw that the damage was fixed in only two short days; for the social security office looked as good as it ever had.
"Still, there are many details I'm very curious about," Aizawa said. "How'd it take you so long to realize that you've neglected basic identification materials in Japan?"
"Ah, I've kinda just forgotten about it," Black replied. "Being an asylum seeker, I was only concerned about getting to Japan. I understand that it's an irresponsible move of mine but I'm glad that I finally got closure to my standards of living."
This sounded strange to Aizawa, who was still keeping his usual poker face. Although this was a decent cover-up of cross-reality transport to Black, he always kept note of how many details are to be recounted should he ever bring it up.
"I guess I've heard of stranger things," Aizawa remarked. "Immigration issues aren't exactly my forte so I can't really say too much in regards to villany there."
"We'll be there in 15 minutes, Eraser," the chauffeur said.
"Good to know that we'll be on schedule," the hero replied.
Black looked at his phone and opened the news app. It quickly became a favorite of his, for much of the world's current information was so easily accessible.
"Hero Killer On The Loose," Black read outloud. "Hey, is it me or are there a lot of articles about him?"
"Well of course there would be," the hero replied monotonously. "To kill 17 heroes and cripple dozens more is not a feat to be taken lightly. That's the highest kill count done by a single person since All Might made his debut."
So those numbers are considered 'impressive,' Black thought. He knew full well that heroes were capable of murder but he wasn't able to find much information about that. To hear about someone who seemed to be the bane of heroism peaked his interest more.
"Well, it's not like he's a god or something," the Saiyan joked. "He should be caught soon."
"I wouldn't be surprised if he was," Aizawa replied. "I'm more concerned about his ideology."
"Ideology?" the Saiyan asked.
"Yes, I believe that is his trump card," Aizawa elaborated. "The idea of 'fake heroes' and 'worthiness' sets a very dangerous example of what hero society is. While the role of heroes has always been a fundamental question since its roots in Rhode Island, it expands to many different ideas, some of which are more frivolous than legit. These frivolous ideas can easily erode society's trust in heroes, possibly leading to huge consequences."
Black nodded slowly as each word the hero just said was immediately etched into the Saiyan's memory. He then continued to read the news while Aizawa closed his eyes to nap.
"We're here, Mr. Aizawa and Goku," the Chaffeur announced.
Aizawa woke up from his light slumber, looking as groggy as always.
"Alright, Goku," the hero said. "A lot of heroes are already here so be on your best behavior."
"Yes, sir," Black replied.
The two got out of the Jeep and made their way to the festival arena. It was a gigantic stadium with a sitting capacity in the tens of thousands. This stretched on for miles, with a crowd of heroes already making their way in.
"Isn't that a danger?" Black inquired. "Who would be left to perform their usual duties?"
"Many of them have adequate sidekicks for this," Aizawa explained. "It's common practice for pros to watch the UA Sports Festival and offer internships to the top participants."
"Makes sense," the Saiyan replied. He was feeling slightly jealous that some 15 year olds who were still in school had much better job prospects than a god who existed for at least a few millennia. Securing an internship with a reputable pro hero sure sounded more impressive than a grown man whose only job was as a dishwasher/delivery person for a cat cafe, after all.
"Anyhow, since you're under my supervision, we can just get automatic entry," the hero stated. "Our spot is right up there in the glass window."
Black saw the window and found a blonde man sitting, who seemed to be in a very happy mood.
"That man was at the USJ too, wasn't he?" Black asked.
"He was," the hero replied. "He's Present MIc. He's an actual DJ in addition to his hero and teaching gigs. I have no idea how he finds the time…"
As the Saiyan placed two fingers on his head, Aizawa stared at him, activating his Erasure.
"No, you can't use the teleportation th-" he said before feeling a hand on his shoulder.
Black and Aizawa teleported right in the area that Present Mic was sitting in.
"HOLY COW BANANAS!" Mic screamed with his quirk. "Oh, it's just you, Shota. And that's…"
"-ing…" Aizawa said, grimacing at Black. The Saiyan laughed nervously along with this. The Erasure hero couldn't help but notice that the teleportation did not seem to be affected by Erasure, which he made a mental note of. "Anyway, Mic, this is Goku, you've seen each other in the USJ."
"Oh yeah!" Mic said, smiling. "You set some fire to those 1-A kids and I got you to thank!"
"Uhhh, you're welcome?" Black said, puzzled at what was going on. "Anyway, I'm supposed to assess these kids, right?"
"Exactly," Aizawa said. "I was going to give you the proper paperwork, but you just had to be too eager about it…"
"Ah, don't sweat it Goku," Mic said. "Shota just has a hard time thanking people when they make his life easier sometimes."
"SHUT UP!" Aizawa groaned. "Oh well, there's still plenty of time to get the paperwork in my office."
He then left the room, leaving Black and Present Mic alone.
"So, Goku!" Mic called. "Must be a pretty lucky guy to sit next to a DJ such as myself! How about I show you around here?"
"That'll be fine by me, thank you," Black replied.
The hero showed Black around the commentary box, going into intense jargon about much of the equipment and his job.
"-so, you know, back when I first used this speaker, I was like 'WOW! Sure would be handy if I had a support item like that," Mic droned on. "So I had one made!" Present Mic pointed at the speaker near his neck with both fingers, giving a very energetic grin.
"Heh, ehhhh" Black nervously chuckled, having no idea what he just listened to. He was an excellent listener when it came to conversations involving intellectual thinking but still lacked the knowledge for mortal technology to be able to hold his own in this department. The Saiyan tried to think of a way to sidetrack him. "So am I going to be giving commentary as well?"
"It's mostly my gig but I'll let-"
"No. No he's not," Aizawa said, interrupting the two.
"Aw, come on, don't be such a buzzkill," Mic said, trying to liven up the mood again.
"Ugh, fine, he'll be allowed to say a few comments," the Erasure hero said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, Goku, here are the papers. Try to take the time to read through this."
Black looked at the papers Aizawa gave him, which was a huge pile of student information, such as their quirks, exercise performances, and style of hero. Ranging from half ice/half fire generation to hands that can grow big, the Saiyan thought that these were all very strange powers to have.
"Shota, was this really a good idea?" Mic asked. "Is it a good idea to let some random guy look at all this info?"
"Oh come on, you don't get to say that after being all buddy-buddy with him just now," Aizawa replied to Mic's embarrassment. "Besides, as pros, the general public already knows what our quirks and styles are so this'll make no real difference. Plus, I think he can see something that even we missed."
"I'm done reading," Black said. "I think I understand the hero course students significantly more now. But how exactly do you want them to be assessed?"
"Sheesh, so soon?!" Mic blurted.
"The Hottas told me that Black has a taste for very complex literature so I wasn't too concerned about this," Aizawa said nonchalantly. "Now as for assessing the students, the Sports Festival has always been divided into three parts, two preliminary rounds and one final round, which has always been a one-on-one fight. Now, it'll be difficult to observe each student extremely closely so you should note what the most interesting aspects to each student are if you see them. Any good maneuvers or blunders should have a note be made."
"That sounds doable," Black replied, trying to keep face while he processed all of this information.
"The one-on-one should be where much of the feedback will be on," the Erasure hero said. "It's much easier to keep track of due to the fewer participants, so your feedback should be as detailed as possible."
Aizawa looked at the Saiyan's face, who wasn't doing a very good job at hiding how overwhelmed he felt.
"Of course, if it is far too much to see live, you can rewatch the Festival once this is all done," he reassured.
Black nodded, feeling more relieved at the more lenient news.
"Guys, we're gonna be on air in five minutes!" Mic exclaimed.
"Hope you know your camera etiquette, Goku," Aizawa said.
"My what etiquette?" Black asked, startled at this sudden update.
"Millions of people tune in to watch this every year," Aizawa explained. "We're in the commentary box so you should expect cameras to be on us from time to time."
Ah, son of a- Black thought, never expecting to make himself known to so many people so soon.
"WE'RE STARTING IN 5-" Mic blasted.
Alright, how do people do these public appearances? Black thought.
"4"
Come on, you're a god who's capable of crossing timelines and this is what makes you nervous?
"3"
I think journalists do this all the time, right?
"2"
Alright, journalist mode.
"1!"
Show time.
"WELCOME EVERYONE!" Mic yelled out. "THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. ARE YOU READY?"
A huge cheer blasted from the crowd as fireworks shot out of the stadium. On the very bottom of the arena, a small group of people in blue uniforms walked out and into the cameras' eyes.
Mic then introduced all the first year student courses in addition to the hero one, such as the support, business, and general studies courses.
"AND THAT'S ALL OF THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS!" Mic yelled in a conclusion.
The attention shifted from the DJ hero to the students and woman in front of them.
"TIME FOR THE PLAYER PLEDGE!" she yelled out.
She looks familiar, Black thought. That outfit is allowed for heroism?
"You look a bit flustered, Goku," Mic teased far enough for the mics to not pick up. "That's the R-Rated hero, Midnight, for ya!"
Midnight, Midnight, Black tried to remember where he heard the name from. After a moment, he remembered her from the day he visited the USJ.
"Oh, wow," Black said monotonously in an effort to keep the conversation going.
"We're on air," Aizawa said. "Remember not to say something too moronic."
"SILENCE, EVERYONE!" Midnight ordered the students. "Representing the students is Katsuki Bakugo from class 1-A!"
Countless eyes pored over on a blonde kid with stern, red eyes.
I thought his name was Kacchan, Black wondered, a bit confused. Of all people, he's supposed to represent the first years? In his two encounters with Bakugo, it was hard to put him in his list of favorite mortals.
Bakugo made his way to the podium where Midnight was standing. He paused for a moment, as if he was thinking of words to say.
"I promise," he uttered on the microphone. "That I'm gonna win."
Black cringed at this line, remembering his first encounter where he bested the teenager with minimum effort.
"What the hell kind of speech is that?" Black blurted.
"Decorum," Aizawa reminded him. "Try to be unbiased here."
The Saiyan calmed down to his senses. He did his best to quell the second hand embarrassment at the terrible 'speech' he just heard.
As the crowd made a fuss about the remarks, Midnight's voice boomed again.
"Now, let's get started right away," she called. "The first game is what you would call a 'qualifier!' Every year, many drink their tears here! Now, here is the fateful first game!"
A holographic projection appeared behind her, mimicking a slot machine. The machine halted once the first game choice was made.
"All 11 classes will participate," Midnight explained. "The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium, which is about 4 kilometers! Our school's selling point is freedom! As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do!" The R-Rated hero licked her lips and gave a sadistic smirk as she said the ground rules.
That seems oddly villainous, Black thought, feeling very mixed about this 'Midnight' hero.
"Now, take your places, everyone!" she ordered.
The students lined up at the gate, waiting for the go signal.
"START!"
Author's Note: And there's chapter 13! No real fighting, going back to canon MHA now. Aizawa healed much faster here due to Black's intervention at the USJ when he gave him energy. Other than that, thanks for reading again!